West Bengal sets up high-level panel to examine draft Uniform Civil Code Bill

The West Bengal government has constituted a high-level committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to examine a draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill for the state, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday.

The move comes after the BJP swept to power in the 2026 Assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress' 15-year rule in West Bengal. Implementation of the UCC was among the BJP's key electoral promises.

A government notification issued on Friday said the committee had been formed for a comprehensive examination of the draft Bill in view of the "wide ramifications and voluminous nature" of the proposed legislation.

The state government said it had prepared the draft Bill to create a comprehensive legal framework governing personal civil matters for residents, irrespective of religion, faith or community.

The proposed legislation seeks to cover issues including marriage, divorce, intestate succession and testamentary succession.

Justice Desai will chair the committee, which also includes former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, Resident Commissioner Dushyant Nariala, retired IAS officer Shatrughna Singh and Principal Secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs Department Sanghamitra Ghosh.

Academic Ratna Bhattacharya, former Gour Banga University vice-chancellor Gopalchandra Misra, advocate Osman Gani Mallick and former executive director Nirmalya Bhattacharyya are also members of the panel.

The committee was constituted following a decision taken at a state Cabinet meeting on 2 July.

"It has been set up for a comprehensive examination and review of the draft Bill in view of the wide ramifications and voluminous nature of the subject," a senior state government official said.

Another official said the committee would study the draft legislation in detail and submit its recommendations before the government takes a final decision on the proposed law.

The government said the initiative had been undertaken in view of Article 44 of the Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy which calls upon the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for citizens.

The proposed West Bengal UCC seeks to standardise personal civil laws across communities in matters including marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. Its key provisions are expected to draw from UCC models adopted by other states.

Speaking to reporters in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, Adhikari said the committee would soon begin its work and asserted that the UCC would be implemented in the state.

"The committee has been formed under former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. It will soon start working, and it will soon be implemented in the state just as it has been in other states. There will be one nation and one law and not two laws," Adhikari said.

The UCC has remained a major political and ideological issue nationally, with the BJP advocating a common set of civil laws for citizens across religious communities.

West Bengal is now moving towards examining its own proposed legislation, with the high-level panel's recommendations expected to shape the final form of the Bill before the government takes further steps.